Overstock Sold Cryptobonds To FNY

Overstock, an American online retailer which is headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, near Salt Lake City, has sold a $5 million worth of “cryptobond” to FNY Managed Accounts, a New York- based trading firm.

In a press release which is posted on the NASDAQ website, Patrick M. Byrne, the chief executive officer of Overstock stated, “In recent months the financial industry has been coming to understand the power of digital securities based on cryptotechnology and how this is going to change their world.

We welcome First New York, salute the vision of the company’s leadership, and anticipate that this could be the start of a beautiful relationship between our firms.”

The chief executive officer of First New York, Donald Motschwiller also stated, “Our investment in this $5 million cryptobond reflects our commitment to be at the forefront when it comes to adopting new technologies.”

The project was first announced in April and later on June, Overstock.com announced that it is planning to offer $25 million private bond using the blockchain, the distributed ledger that upholds bitcoin.

On April, the company stated on how it will seek to issue digital securities through an alternative trading system, “We may decide to offer securities as digital securities, meaning the securities will be uncertified securities, the ownership and transfer of which are recorded on a cryptographically- secured distributed ledger system using technology similar to (or the same as) the distributed ledger technology used for trading digital currencies.”

When Byrne purchased a $500,000 TIGRcub digital bond the company issued through Entrex.net – the first such transaction in history.

Digital securities are different from traditional securities in that they trade exclusively on a cryptographically protected, public and transparent ledger, using the same technology that powers the bitcoin digital currency.

Overstock sold the $5 million cryptobond to First New York that bears an interest at 7 per cent per annum over a five- year term.

Even though the cryptodebt is unsecured and has no covenants, it has both put and call provisions agreeable to which Overstocks expects it and First New York may disentangle the bond in the fourth quarter of 2015 or sooner.

Bryne further stated, “On the evening of August 4 we are holding a launch party at NASDAQ headquarters to expose to the world the great strides we are making in our efforts to adapt cryptotechnology to the needs of Wall Street, of which this bond is but one example.”